July 14, 2010

I tasted blind. Meade, having set up the test, was non-blind. Meade picked the St. Bernardus. I favored the Trappistes Rochefort, for its fascinating extra dimension of flavor. It's been made by monks at he Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy since 1595. "There are approximately 15 monks resident at the monastery. The monks are very secretive about the brewing process, and the brewery is not open to the public...." Good work, secretive monks! "[T]he beer is only sold in order to financially support the monastery and some other good causes." Well, then! I feel like a real humanitarian.

I woke up one fine day as blind as Fortune. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not still asleep.

And when was that?

I don't know.

But no later than yesterday—

Don't question me! The blind have no notion of time. The things of time are hidden from them too.

Well, just fancy that! I could have sworn it was just the opposite....

Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.

Chartreuse is the same way with the cloistered monks and the secrecy. A little bit of chartreuse at the bottom of a pint glass (like a centimeter or two), filled with ice, and filled with seltzer is like summer in a glass, imo. Plus, it's fun to drink green things.

Beer is good too. I drink it mostly in the summer. I'm stocking the Lagunitas IPA currently.

Back in January there was a kerfuffle in Scotland over a fortified wine called Buckfast, which is made by Benedictine monks. It is apparently the wine of choice for getting drunk and violent on, leading to news stories wondering if the monks should be held accountable for the abuse of their product.

Took European Delivery of a new Volvo a few months ago and did what we jokingly referred to as a 'Drinking & Driving Tour of Europe' (there was always a designated driver!) with stops at several Belgian breweries, multiple French wine routes and the monastery and distillery of the monks who make Chartreuse.

We learned that only two of the monks are actually involved in making the liqueurs...they keep the secret recipe and work in the distillery several days a week until they die or can no longer work, only then is another monk taken from their life of prayer to work on the booze. I imagine it's considered a sacrifice for the betterment of the monastery as a whole...going out into the world to make money so that your brothers can stay behind and devote themselves to prayer.

As for beer, I tend to prefer the Flemish style of sour Belgian beers (try Monk's Cafe in the U.S.), or the natural unflavored lambics known as gueuze (Lindemans Cuvée René is one of the few imported stateside).